Shooting In Class Angers Mom

[Calgon1]

If the employee fired for actually "touching" a shoplifter last week wasn't bad enough; Here's another example of why some animals eat their young (or should)!

The following was taken from the Page 3-a of the Detroit Free Press, for Saturday, January 12th, 2008:

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DETROIT FREE PRESS -

SHOOTING IN CLASS ANGERS MOM
By Ben Schmidtt and Jim Schaefer
Free Press Staff Writers

Son OK, but teacher failed to report noise

Carlia Swartz still can't fathom how a gunshot in a classroom can be mistaken for a firecracker.

But that remains one of the possible scenarios surrounding the shooting Wednesday of her 16-year-old son at Detroit's Finney High School - a shooting that school officials called in to police two hours after it occurred.

The student, who told police and his parents that he didn't realize he was struck until he got home, suffered a wound to the thigh and was treated and released at a hospital. A 14-year-old student was arrested Wednesday, and the shooting remained under investigation Friday.

'I am ecstatic the my son is alive' Swartz said. 'But I'm very upset that it happened inside the school. And the teacher took it as a firecracker? That's just crazy.'

The ninth-grade science teacher told police she heard a loud pop at 1:30 p.m. that caused some students to jump, but still released all students at the end of class.

Detroit Public Schools spokesman Steve Wasko said school officials did not learn of the shooting until parents began calling in after the school day ended. He said Friday he had not seen the police report.

'From everything we understand, the student did not know he had been shot while in school,' Wasko said. 'This is a very unusual situation.'

Swartz said her son did not realize he had been struck until he got home and felt pain and blood running down his leg.

Witnesses said the sutdent arrested was waving a handgun in the class. They told police the gun went off when the teen placed it back in his backpack. The gun has not been found.

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OK. I have a couple problems with this. Besides the terrible grammar and puncuation errors reflecting very poorly on the newspapers staff writers and editor (or lack thereof) ...

1) How could the teacher not know someone had fired a handgun in the classroom?
2) If the 14 year old was "waving a handgun in the class", how could the teacher not see it?
3) Why did it take two hours before police were notified?
4) Mom is, "very upset that it happened inside the school"... Would she have been less upset if it had happened elsewhere?
5) Would she have preferred it happen on the street, or maybe the sidewalk? How about on the bus? Down at the local crack-house?
6) How could the 16 year old not know he had been shot while in school?
7) Did he think it 'just happened' somewhere between school and his home? 'Honest Mister po-lease. I was jus' walkin' in da hood, when a magical dude comed up behind me. He touched me on the leg, and the next thing you know ... Shazam! ... I was bleedin'
8) Why didn't the other students in the classroom say, or do, something?
9) Why are 14 year olds in the same class with 16 year olds?
10) And finally, what are "staff writers"? Are they some new breed of reporters who don't realy report anything but, rather, just write about it?

 

[Gayle V]

Actually Calgon, I don't find this all that strange.

First, small guns do sound a whole lot like a firecracker, even a small ladyfinger. And not that it matters, but some bigger firecrackers, M80's H100's sound much louder than small guns. they're even louder than a few rifles I've heard.

Why didn't the teacher see? Now the teacher should have reported the firecracker, but most teachers are facing away from the class while writing on the board. Not surpised she didn't see what the student was doing. I don't really think the kid was being obvious about it. He was likely letting the kids see, not the teachers.

3) Why did it take two hours before police were notified? They answered this, if the teacher didn't realize it was a gun, and the kids didn't snitch, and the boy didn't report being hit, why on earth would anyone call the police?

4) Mom is, "very upset that it happened inside the school"... Would she have been less upset if it had happened elsewhere?
Agree with you. I'd be in a fit, no matter where my kid got shot.

6) How could the 16 year old not know he had been shot while in school? Not strange at all. I see people at the hospital all the time who don't realize that they've been injured. They have come in for one thing, and are totally unaware of other injuries. It's the adrenaline rush of the moment (possibly caused by the sudden loud noise in this case) prevents people from feeling it until the adrenalin wears off. If this was not a really serious wound, and was not losing blood fast , as appears to be the case, this is totally possible.

8) Why didn't the other students in the classroom say, or do, something? I don't know about where you live, but even thirty years ago, kids in school here did not tell on each other. I seriously doubt if they are more likely to snitch today.

9) Why are 14 year olds in the same class with 16 year olds? Easy, if you take algebra when you're in ninth grade, you are 14. If you take it when you are in eleventh grade you are sixteen. Same class, different ages. At least around here, you take the class whenever you happen to sign up for it.

10) And finally, what are "staff writers"? Not a clue.